


Never ending Nightmare

by Penguin117



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, hurt goku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-26
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 15:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1230829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penguin117/pseuds/Penguin117
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a demented youkai decides to play, Goku's the one it takes. Sent to a strange labyrinth to torture him, will the others ever get him back?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hakkai parked the jeep in front of the inn, smack in the middle of town. It would be a quiet peaceful day if not for the constant banter coming from the back seat. Getting everyone's packs off, Hakkai held out his arm and with a small poof, Hakuryuu snuggled up to the green eyed man's neck, thankful for rest. He heard a murmur behind him and his ears rang as a shout was heard.

"QUIT CALLIN' ME MONKEY!" Goku yelled, launching himself at Goyjo. "YOU PERVERT! KAPPA!" Both landed in a heap on the floor, rolling as each tried to land a hit. A shot rang out, startling the couple walking by. Hakkai gave sheepish smile as he waved, apologizing for scaring them during their stroll. "Will you both _shut the hell up_ or the next one won't miss." Sanzo warned, tone dark and menacing. The shot landed in the dirt right between the two laying on the ground, making each go stiff before promptly getting smacked with a fan. "Where do you even keep that damn thing anyway?!" Goyjo groaned, holding his throbbing skull.

"Find someone else to bother, I'm going to see if they have any rooms open." Sanzo replied, ignoring Goyjo's question and rolling his eyes. He walked into the small inn, leaving the other three in the front. "I'll be off to get more supplies, try not to go to far off. And be sure not to spoil your appetite." Hakkai smiled warmly, before walking in the direction of the small marketplace they had seen when they came to this town. The same marketplace where they had each seen cooks roasting meats and making pastries...

Neither was able to resist and had walked toward the marketplace as well. There weren't as many people outside as they would have thought. It was a little strange considering how large the town was, but this thought was pushed away with the loud growling coming from Goku's stomach. "What kind of food do you think they have here?" Goku said, drooling slightly as the rich smell of steamed buns and meat filled the air.

"Do you ever listen to what Hakkai tells you to do?" Gojyo rolled his eyes, shuffling as he tried to get comfortable with his bag on his back. "Here monkey, hold this. I'll buy you some bananas as payment later." He laughed, tossing the bag at Goku. It hit him in the face, causing him to fall backwards and he landed with a grunt. He walked away as Goku snapped at him, ducking through some stalls.

"Damn Kappa! Why'd you throw it so hard, my head's hurtin' now" Goku rubbed his face, sore from where he had fallen down onto the dirt floor. Slowly getting to his feet, he bounded after Goyjo.  _Can't wait to throw it back in his face. That'll teach 'im to...what?_   Goku smelled the air, sensing something bad was happening. But he didn't feel any youkai, or anything else that would make his hair stand on end.  _What's goin' on?"_

* * *

Hearing the thudding footsteps behind him, Goyjo hid a smile. _If he thinks that he's gonna kick my ass, he's got another thing comin'_ He thought to himself, before the noise suddenly stopped.  _Huh?_ Goyjo looked back and saw Goku, who stopped in the middle of the road and was facing east with a strange look on his face. "What's the matter with you?" He asked, playing it off as sarcasm but still worried.  _What made him freeze like that?_

"Something smells wrong...It kinda smells like-" _Copper._  Goku's eyes widened and he dropped Gojyo's bag, racing down the streets, jumping over some stands. He paid no attention to Goyjo's yells as he went ducking through the small crowds.

"What the hell?! Goku!" Goyjo screamed, picking up his bag as he ran after after the spooked monkey. 

_What the hell's happening?_

In his sprint, he wasn't as nimble as Goku, and he bumped into some people as he tried to follow. He brushed past Hakkai near one of the stalls, causing the green eyed man to fumble a bag of fruit he just bought. "Goyjo? What-"

"Get Sanzo, I think something's freaked Goku!" He called back, pushing his way through a busy stall.  _Shit man, what's wrong?!_

* * *

Goyjo's crimson hair hadn't even been out of sight before Hakkai took Jeep out of his shirt. It chirped, sad to be awakened suddenly from his nap. "You need to find Sanzo, something's happened." The little dragon nodded, and with a flap of it's wings it was gone, flying towards the inn. Hakkai left the fruit at the stall, promising he's return and dashed after Goyjo.

 _I think something's freaked Goku!_ Goyjo's voice rang in his head as he ran. What had Goku sensed? There wasn't anything dark or threatening in the air...

He stopped and looked at his surroundings. He was in a small part of the town, almost no one in sight. A breeze made a fence creak slightly, giving everything an eerie feeling to it. If he hadn't sensed it before, then he sure as hell felt it now. It was creeping up on him, twisting around his chest, almost suffocating. And within a second, it had disappeared, and he was able to breathe properly. He let out a small pant as he felt that eerie feeling fade, "Where could they hav-"

"Hakkai!  _Shit_ , hurry!" Goyjo's voice pierced through the air, snapping Goyjo back to his senses. He back up to see Goyjo sticking his head out of a door to his left, horror swimming in his eyes. Hakkai ran into the small cottage that Goyjo was in. And walked into see Goku struggling to stop the flowing blood from a young girl's neck. From Hakkai's view, it was easily noticeable that the girl was gone. He knelt next to Goku, startled to see the boy panicking as he had his hands placed over her throat with trembling hands. "Hakkai, what do I do? What am I supposed to _do_?" Goku pleaded. "Goku... It's okay..." Hakkai replied, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. They needed to pull Goku from his grip around her neck to finally let the girl be at peace. Goku was looking down at the girl in his lap, as Hakkai tried to bring him back to his senses.

* * *

 Sanzo ran into the room after Hakuryuu, hands clutching the door frame as he panted, and felt his breath get hitched in his throat. Blood.  _There was_   _so much blood in the middle of the room._

_And in the middle of it was Goku, sitting and holding a girl's body in his arms._

Sanzo's eyes immediately went up to the boy's forehead, locking on to the shining gold that had dots of blood spread on it. "What the hell happened?" Hakkai came out from one of the rooms, holding a small blanket. Kneeling down by Goku, he whispered something that made Goku reluctantly lay the girl down back on the floor. She was covered, laid to rest at last.

"I don't know man. One second Goku's wanting food and the next he's going apeshit and running in the other direction!" Goyjo ran his hands through his hair, lit cigarette in his mouth. He may have looked calm, but Sanzo noticed the small shaking in his fingers. "That's not all, folks are upstairs..." He placed a hand on Sanzo's chest, stopping him form walking to the stairway. "They're gone too, Sanzo." The monk looked up the staircase, eyes tracing the blood drips on each step.  _What the hell's happening in this town?_

"That's not everything. She...She said she killed 'em. And she went insane and sliced her throat. The cut her own goddamn  _throat_  man! Right in front of us!" Goyjo leaned against the wall, looking at Hakkai leading Goku into the kitchen on the right. "Goku tried to stop her, but I think...we were too late." He looked out the door to see a small crowd forming outside, though no one even looked surprised. That was... _weird_.

People outside were murmuring in hushed voices, some immediately leaving the scene.

_It's happened again._

_What a shame, they were such a nice family._

_What if it was one of us?_

_I don't want that to happen to me..._

Hakkai walked up behind them, holding Goku's bloodied shirt in his hands. Goku was standing off to the side, not looking at the corpse in the middle of the room. Hakkai broke the silence, bringing everyone back from their thoughts. "Something is very off about this small village, Sanzo. All these people, but why haven't any of them gone for help?"

Sanzo looked around, motioning the others to get outside the house. Shutting the door, they walked past the crowd and tried to ignore the looks they were receiving.

"We need to get back to the inn."


	2. Chapter 2

They all sat around the room, grim faced. Goku hadn't said a word, sitting on one of the farther beds. They could all hear his stomach growling but he wasn't going to move. In his lap was a chirping Jeep, attempting to comfort his friend. He was still without a shirt, since he hadn't bothered to get another one when they had arrived. Instead he just moved into the furthest corner of the room.  Luckily they had a large room, and a bed for each of them so they wouldn't need to worry about who was sleeping on the floor this time. The quiet was beginning to get unbearable, slowly draining their sanity as they began to fidget from their spots.

Sanzo sighed, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence in the room. "Goyjo, get Goku's clothes cleaned. He'll catch a cold if he keeps walking around like that." He motioned to Gojyo, who was smoking near the window, to Goku's  bloodied shirt lumped against the far wall near the door. Goyjo opened his mouth as if he was about to sass, but shut it hearing a gun click behind him. "Yeah, Alright fine. I'll do the damn laundry for the monkey." Making his way for the door, he quietly picked up the shirt and stole a glance at  Goku, who still hadn't reacted.  _Damn I hope he's okay, doesn't even wanna fight..._ He thought to himself as he left the quiet room.

More silence...

"Guys?" Goku finally sighed, looking up from the sleeping dragon nuzzled against his legs. "Can I have somthin' to eat?"

* * *

 The innkeepers wife looked up from the front desk as the group came down the stairs. Putting down the pen atop the guestbook, she sat up cheerfully. "What can I do for you?" Hakkai leaned back to ask something of the others, before coming up to her.

"We were wondering if perhaps the inn's kitchen is still open." He smiled, face calm and friendly. He noticed her quickly glance over at Goku, who was leaning against a far wall, with a strange look. It almost looked like one of  _pity_ ? It quickly changed within the next second, however, as she brought her attention back to Hakkai.

"Of course! Here look at our menu, would you like this or this or..." She pulled him over as he motioned to the others to sit at the nearby table. Goku sat down by himself, while Sanzo sat down on the other end, picking up a magazine from a basket to the side. His eyes were skimming over the articles, not looking at anything in particular as he waited for Hakkai to come sit down. Goyjo had finally sat down by Sanzo after asking about the drinks. Goyjo sighed as he leaned back against the chair, arms behind his head, surveying the room.  _Innkeeper's back._ He thought calmly to himself as he watched the older man walk through the main doors. He let his eyes close as Hakkai sat down in front of him, after replacing Sanzo's magazine with a menu.

"Please, come with me,. Leave the boy."

The whisper caused his eyes snapped open and looked up to see the innkeeper's face look at Goyjo and Sanzo quickly before motioning to his office behind the front desk. They glanced at each other, before the innkeeper's wife blocked their view with plates of food. "Alright!" Goku cheered, forking a mouthful of beef into his mouth across from them. Hakkai leaned over to Goku and told him to stay there.  _Somethings not right._ He thought to himself as they followed  _They've been avoiding eye contact with Goku since we got here. Along with everyone else in this town._

The door clicked as it shut behind them and the innkeeper sat down, inviting the others to do so as well. "May we help you?" Hakkai asked, as they each took a chair. He noticed the discomfort the man had on his face, as if one of regret.

"We know who you people are. You are the Sanzo party correct?" The innkeeper looked at them cautiously, holding on to his wife's hand tightly as she stood beside him. She was fidgeting, before releasing her hold on his hand and turning to face him.

"Caleb, we don't need to disturb them, it will only anger her further..." She timidly glanced back at Sanzo, who looked both annoyed and calm at the same time.  _Still don't know how he does that sometimes._ Goyjo laughed to himself, before tensing as Caleb slammed his fist onto the coffee table in front of them.

"Dammit Helena! Don't we deserve peace?! How long are we going to keep Mary away from that damned thing?" He yelled, red faced with anger, "She's our little girl and I'll do anything I can so she won't be taken from us!"

Hakkai, Sanzo, and Goyjo froze. "What do you mean taken?" Sanzo broke in, standing from his seat. "What's happening in this town?" A knock on the door was heard from behind them. Hakkai opened it to find Goku peering in. Glancing back at Sanzo, he understood and nodded. Hakkai whispered a small line of reassurance and Goku looked back at the group once more before going back to the dining hall.

They sat back down once it was quiet again. Caleb held his wife's hand again in a firm grip."It's been happening for a year now. A child will just disappear, for weeks at a time. We never know where they are taken, each one has been in a different location than the last."

"What happens to them?"

"The parents...find their body in their beds...mutilated beyond recognition if they're lucky..."

"How the hell is that lucky?!" Goyjo snapped, not daring to imagine any children in that state. Hakkai put a firm hand on his shoulder, and dipped his head toward Caleb as Goyjo looked up. Caleb looked shaken, and reluctantly continued with the tale.

"The other way..." Caleb licked his lips, grip on his wife getting tighter. "The other way is when the child _returns_ to the home, only to slaughter everyone in the household. We don't know why, they just take the lives of any family before they take their own." Helena looked away, wiping away a tear that had fallen when she shut her eyes. 

 _Like that girl_   Sanzo realized, eyes widening as he remembered the groups earlier encounter. The way she was smiling as she lay there dead in Goku's trembling arms. The blood dripped onto the staircase, leading up to the bedrooms. How Goyjo described the girl taking her life without a second thought in front of them.

"I would be careful if I were you. You must leave this town while you still can."

The low voice brought him back to the office, back in the present. "Why?" His eyes turned to slits, tensing as he comprehended the warning as a threat. Hakkai seemed to be the only one managing to keep his cool during this discussion, as a sigh from him caused Sanzo to relax slightly. "Why have you not left?" Hakkai interjected, hoping to find out the answer to this strange and grotesque mystery.

"We can't." Helena quickly looked up, releasing her hold on Caleb's hand. A look from her husband was all it took to calm her down. "...not until we're sure that either the next child has been chosen...or the damn thing is killed." Her stern face flushing red as her anger caused her to shake. Her hands clenched into fists, clear to the group as she stood up from her seat. "Because she likes _children_. She likes to play" Helena shuddered as the last line  left her throat, hint of grief coming from her wavering voice.

Caleb stared at the group, and noticed their look of creeping confusion. The next thing he told them, however, caused each of them to feel ice climb over their backs and seep into their skin as dread filled them.

"And judging by the young boy that came for a meal earlier, I don't think he'll be spared of any of this."

 


	3. Chapter 3

The group had come out of the office grim faced, leaving Goku with a pit in his stomach even after eating his fill. After dinner, and thanking the couple for the meal, they retired to their room, but Goku could tell something was wrong. Hakkai, Sanzo and Goyjo were quietly arming themselves and getting ready to leave. No way in  _hell_ were they going to let some crazed psycho killer youkai try to take Goku from them.

"Why do I hafta stay here?" Goku whined, throwing his head down onto the soft pillow. 

"Because this asshole is taking anything that meets the age requirement, like you." Gojyo muttered in a monotone voice, stuffing a half empty of cigarettes into the pack on the desk. He knew that Sanzo had more, but there was no way in hell that he was going to ask his Holyness if he could spare. His head still throbbed from last time he tried that. He cleared his throat, hoping Goku hadn't realized what he said, "We need you to watch our things, just while we take care of something important."

Goku groaned, smothering his face into the pillow again. _I can handle it. Don't see why I gotta stay behind..._ "But 'm not a kid" He groaned again, looking up at Hakkai who came into the room with a small bag for Hakuryuu. Hakuryuu was wrapped around the man's neck, chirping each time Hakkai gave him a small treat. The white dragon looked at Goku and, sensing the younger member's distress, crawled off Hakkai and flew down onto the pillow.

"I can fight! 's not like I can't help!" Goku sighed, stroking the dragon as it nuzzled against his neck and shoulder. He gave his best puppy eyed look to Hakkai, the only one that seemed to be looking Goku in the eyes right now.  _C'mon C'mon...._ _Pleaseeeeeeee._ He perked up, seeing Hakkai move closer to him, but recognized the look of sympathy from him and slouched over, sad he couldn't get Hakkai to agree.

"Goku, If that were the case then you would be waiting outside for us by now." The dark haired man ruffled Goku's hair in affection, but in a way soothing the 16 year old. His green eyes met Goku's, shutting as he smiled. _Somethin's still ain't right..._ "We won't be long, just until we can be sure that the youkai won't hurt anyone else." He stepped away from Goku, and picked up his backpack from the corner of the room.  _Wha...? Youkai? They were going to fight and they were leaving him here?!_

"Don't leave this room. Not until we come back, do you understand Goku?" Sanzo called out, giving the look of ' _Do what I tell you or so help me I'll string you up and leave you tied to a tree for a week'_ that Sanzo only used when things were serious.

 _Why can't I go outside?_  Goku tilted his head, looking up at Sanzo carefully. His tensed with caution and worry spread over his face. "What's goin' on? Sanzo, what-" 

"Yo gramps, you coming or not?" Goyjo, yelled from outside the door. Sanzo sighed, turning to leave when he heard a small voice come from behind him.

"Sanzo?" 

Sanzo looked back at Goku, who was anxiously tugging at his jeans. He'd picked up that habit since Sanzo had found him. Back when he was a kid. He's _still_ a kid. _And an easy target for this thing._  Sanzo shut his eyes, trying to force the image of Goku's mangled body out of his mind."I'll explain when we come back, until then... stay _here_."

* * *

 

"Is it really safe to just leave him there?" Goyjo leaned back against the seat, staring up at the evening sky. He looked back at the shrinking town, remembering the helpless look Goku was giving them before they left. The jeep was rumbling away, out of the town and onto a small path. "I know we're trying to help, but how can we be sure-"

"It may be wiser to have Goku as far away from the youkai as he can, then to be fighting it alongside us." Hakkai replied, calmly driving as their surroundings darkened. Goyjo sighed loudly from the backseat, fidgeting since for a while now nothing was happening. It made him anxious that they wouldn't be able to catch the damn thing before something happened. Hakkai glanced at Sanzo, who was staring at nothing, leaning against his hand looking out the side."Do you really think we'll be able to save the baker's daughter? Caleb said it had already been days since she disappeared." Another loud noise from behind them, as Goyjo was clamoring up to the them, arms resting on the top if each of their seats."Hey, how'd the guy even know where to find the youkai anyway? Isn't it supposed to disappear?"

Sanzo sighed, turning and shoving Goyjo back the far end of the jeep again. He settled back against the seat, glancing at the forest thickening around them. "I talked to some of the locals, and their stories match. The old rumors said she takes their kids up that mountain, but anyone trying to even get close gets killed." Sanzo leaned back and lifted his arms onto the head rest, pointing to a small mountain peak, beginning to be illuminated by the rising moon and setting sun.  Goyjo tried to hide a groan from the back seat, crossing his arms and laying down on the seat cushions.

"So now we're heading right at it. Great."


End file.
